If we are to be honest with ourselves, I know you will agree with me that many believers love the idea of the Holy Spirit but fear the experience of Him. So over time, myths replaced truth, assumptions replaced Scripture, and superstition replaced sound doctrine.
Let me gently and biblically expose seven lies I have realised we’ve believed about the Holy Spirit.
LIE 1: The Holy Spirit is a “THING” or a “FORCE”
Some people talk about the Holy Spirit the way they talk about electricity: “Once it touches you, you’ll start shaking.”
Truth: The Holy Spirit is a PERSON, not a power socket.
Jesus called Him “He”, not “it” (John 16:13).
You don’t use the Holy Spirit; you relate with Him.
You can’t grieve a force, but you can grieve a Person (Ephesians 4:30).
Try insulting electricity; it won’t feel bad. Insult the Holy Spirit, and Scripture says He can be grieved. That settles it.
LIE 2: The Holy Spirit is Only for “Spiritual” People
We think the Holy Spirit only moves around prophets, apostles, and people who fast till angels know them by name.
Truth: The Holy Spirit is for every believer.
Acts 2:38 says, “You shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Not some of you. Not special you. All of you.
Remember: The Holy Spirit came upon all the believers that were present in the upper room (120 in number) on the Day of Pentecost; not just the twelve.
The Holy Spirit is not a luxury item for spiritual elites; He is basic equipment for Christian survival.
LIE 3: The Holy Spirit Only Shows Up in Church
Some believers think the Holy Spirit clocks in during worship and clocks out after the benediction.
Truth: He lives inside you (1 Corinthians 6:19).
He goes to your office, enters traffic with you, and sits beside you during exams.
If the Holy Spirit only worked in church, the early disciples would have been powerless in the streets. But Acts shows the opposite.
LIE 4: The Holy Spirit Is Only About Speaking in Tongues
For some, if there’s no tongues, nothing happened.
Truth: Tongues are a gift, not the sum total.
Galatians 5:22–23 lists His fruit—love, patience, self-control, etc.
If you speak in tongues but still lie, fight, and envy freely, the Holy Spirit didn’t fail; you ignored His fruit department.
LIE 5: The Holy Spirit Will Never Correct You
Many want a Comforter but not a Corrector.
Truth: Jesus said He will convict the world of sin (John 16:8).
Comfort without correction produces spoiled believers.
Think of Him as a loving GPS: when you miss the road, He doesn’t clap—He says,
“Recalculating.”
LIE 6: The Holy Spirit Forces People to Act
“He made me do it” is not Holy Spirit language.
Truth: The Holy Spirit leads, He does not possess (Romans 8:14).
You still have a will.
Even Balaam’s donkey spoke by God’s power, but it didn’t lose control of itself. The Holy Spirit doesn’t hijack personalities; He sanctifies them.
LIE 7: The Holy Spirit Is Optional
Some treat the Holy Spirit like a phone app: useful, but deletable.
Truth: Christianity without the Holy Spirit is empty religion, not life.
Zechariah 4:6 says, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.”
Without the Holy Spirit, prayer becomes noise, ministry becomes stress, and Christianity becomes a moral struggle instead of a spiritual life.
FINAL THOUGHT
The Holy Spirit is not strange; ignorance makes Him seem strange.
He is God’s presence in man, God’s power in weakness, and God’s wisdom in confusion.
The real tragedy is not abusing the Holy Spirit.
The real tragedy is ignoring Him.
Question to ponder:
Are you walking with the Holy Spirit, or just talking about Him?
If this blessed you, share it. Someone out there still thinks the Holy Spirit only shows up when the keyboardist hits the right chord
shalom!
#pstnath
Jesus is Lord
